a bit behind

Okay so I am a bit behind.  Here lately i only have time to write when I am at work and work has been crazy busy lately.  That is a good thing.  That means mommy has a job and baby can stay in pampers.  I have decided to take my blog in a slightly different direction.  This use to be my training blog for deuce, somewhere where I would blog about various training sessions and issues and also shows.  Now my life is so much more and I am tired of justifying that whatever I post will be only about the dogs or shows.  I have changed the name to reflect this.  Just as i talk about my dogs, I would like to start talking about other parts of my life as well.  So here goes.

Andrew just started walking.  I had waited so long for him to walk as other babies his age had been for a while.  I kept in my mind that milestones aren't competitions, but it was hard for me to keep saying that to myself.  He didn't start crawling till much later either so I figured walking would take a while as well.  Now that he is fully mobile, I want to rewind!  Gone are the days of just putting him somewhere and getting things accomplished!  I can still put him in his exersaucer and take a shower or quickly load the dishwasher or laundry but pretty much if I am visibile, he wants to be out and about doing whatever I am doing.  He is also climbing which gives me a daily heart attack.  We have several step ups and step downs in our house so we are getting lots of falls but the climbing is what really scares me and the fact that he is so quick about it.  We do have one set of stairs that we have to get gated ASAP because those are his favorite to motor to and climb up.  He can spend all day climbing up them and me taking him back down and him climbing back up.  I am still so nervous when he does this that I follow him up the stairs every time and so I am getting quite the leg work out.  He also loves to climb the two stairs up to the whirl pool tub so I have to keep the doors to the master bed room shut.  Unfortunately they are the type of doors that fold open so you can't lock them and of course he has figured out where to put pressure on them to open them easily.  Smart kid.  I really thought walking might be a big blessing in that he would wear himself out.  I am obsessed with reading other mommy blogs and many had reported that their kids go to bed earlier at night now or wear out quicker.  Not this kid.  I think being able to walk just winds him up.  He is still going to bed around 9-9:30 sometimes later.  The other night he went to sleep at 8:30 and i was in bed and asleep by 9 pm. HEAVEN.  Never thought I would be saying that!  He is also jabbering pretty regularly now.  He says words that sound like real words but we still aren't real sure if he knows what he is saying. The other day he was walking and fell and we heard what sounded like the words OH SHIT come out of his mouth.  We really need to watch our language.  He says mama and daddy regular and stella or lala or tella.  He can say deuce pretty clearly but doesn't really call out the other dog's names much.  He also sings his ABCs but it's gibberish so no we don't have a baby genius on our hands.  It's more just the cadence and the tune.  He still loves his cartoons, Martha Speaks, Curious George, Little Einsteins and The Cat and the Hat. I know he watches more at daycare but I don't know what he watches during the day.

Running has been great.  Finally got in the groove and 5 am isn't as painful as it use to be.  Occasionally if we have to shuffle our schedule, we will get up a 4:30 on rest days and go run and then do yoga but for the most part, it is 5 am.  If andrew would go to sleep earlier, that would make it better but it is what it is.  We just completed month one of our three (my four) month journey to train for this half marathon.  My running partner is doing a half a month earlier so she gets three months to prepare so I get a bonus month.  Good to just get back out and pound the pavement.  Forgot how much of this is a mental game just like dog agility.  It's all about you, the course or run, and finishing your goals.  I love running with a partner.  She is naturally faster than me but she pushes me to get faster and i push her to slow down and enjoy the easy runs.  If you ever think of doing a big race or even a 5 K, find a BRF or best running friend to help you with your journey.  Also, just as we do in agility, find a coach to help you pick a good training plan and to help you deal with any bumps you might encounter.  They are way cheaper than dog agility trainers LOL and they help you so much.  Lastly, keep your body in good condition just like we do with our agility dogs.  Regular massage and adjustments are a MUST if you are going to complete your training.

Dog agility is meh right now. I am at this point where I have reconciled my feelings and am again going to pull back a bit more.  No regionals and probably no st. louis trips in the near future.  Still on the fence about Omaha.  Not that far of a distance than KC and great friends to hang out with and bike with.   Deuce is still knocking bars and there is no clear answer.  He is running great, which breaks my heart to pull back but all of these runs with one knocked bar as starting to add up financially.  I have no goals for any national events so just probably going to stay local and just do a show or so a month.  I still am pulling from my savings account to enter shows so I am not entering much.  I am going to try and switch my teaching to weekends.  I will miss for occasional shows but I just cant' do anything week nights now with andrew and my running.  I also gave up my workouts at night but I am much happier for it.  I have no stress at night and we have been able to train our dogs more, do more stuff as a family, and get in bed at a decent hour.  I just can't handle anymore get up at 5, work out or run, work 8 hours, set up for an hour and then teach for three and get home at 10 or later.  It was exhausting and I just can't do that to myself and train for this half.  So, I am entered in three shows so far this fall and will go from there.

Hope y'all like my new blog format.  I totally understand if you have no desire to read about kids and or running but that is what my life is now made up about now:)  Will try and keep it as well rounded as possible but it might be heavier on the kid/running at times.